I have a game and it is called guess my two main characters, who aren't mentioned by name until the very end of this chapter. I think I give hints throughout and if you guessed correctly – tell me. This story has everyone with a big part but only these two will be the main focus for a few chapters. I hope folks give this story a chance, it's long.
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Gaining consciousness proved itself as difficult for the girl, as she lulled her achy neck from its awkward position. A pain filled moan escaped cracked lips and her brows scrunched up with tension, make the reddened skin around her closed eyes crinkle. Her ears picked up the rhythmic sound of dripping water, and her nose quickly caught up taking in the unhealthy smelling mold around her.
Her eyes blinked open, and then closed to open again as she tried to make her eyes adjust. As her heavy eyelids opened again she took in the tiny cement room around her, which was only illuminated by a dim bulb hanging from the low ceiling. There was barely enough room for her to move, but as her eyes slid around the room they landed on a metal slab that looked as if it could be a door.
She tried to move, her muscles achy and stiff, and it had taken a couple of tries to make it from her sitting position. It was impossible to stand up, so the girl found herself crawling towards the metal slap, her head hitting the low light making it flicker and swing crazily.
Her stiff fingers closed around the thin edges of the metal slab and tugged. She was surprised when it easily gave way, and she opened it revealing darkness beyond. Her heart began beating harshly in her chest. What's going on? She asked herself mentally. She gripped her head trying to remember how she had gotten here, nothing came. The only thing she remembered was staying late after school… and an attack?
The girl shook her head, her memories fuzzy. She remembered leaving school at night and the black sky above had suddenly taken on a violent tint of red. Sirens blared along with car horns, tires squealed and she could hear crashes from the road. She thinks she remembers an explosion a few miles away, and that her cell phone had no signal. She remembered getting into her car but her memories became fuzzy again beyond that.
The girl pulled herself through the hole and into the inky darkness around her. She cautiously rose to her feet assuming the ceiling would be higher, it was. She began to stumble through the blinding darkness, waving her hands frantically in front of her. Her hands soon came in contact with smooth cold stone; hesitantly she began following the wall to her left in hopes of find a door. It wasn't long before her hands came in contact with something more metallic then stone. A door. She quickly searched around for a handle and found one.
It easily twisted, unlocked. Pushing it forward released a gust of cool air into the room, along with yellow light. She involuntarily shivered and took a step into the bare lighted room. A bright bulb hung at least fifteen feet from the ground by a thin black cord, a strange breeze making it lightly sway. The only thing in the room was a wooden chair, sitting directly in the center of the grey stone room.
The girl jumped as the metal door she had just came through slammed behind her. There were no other doors in the room, and a quick checking of the metal door behind her told her it had been locked. Slightly spooked and beginning to panic the girl eyes began to dart around the room from top to bottom searching for a way out, and she found it. Another metal slab was about fifteen feet off the ground and impossible for her to reach, even with the wooden chair in the room.
She tried anyway, dragging the chair until it was underneath the metal slab, and she got on it and reached for it. Her finger tips never even came close. After another few minutes of pointless trying the girl stepped from the chair and took a heavy seat in it.
As minutes turned into hours, the young woman began pacing the room. Her mind reeling and the tension inside her makes her stiff bones ach. Near the ninth hour, she thinks. The metal slab scrapes open and something wrapped in a brown paper bag is tossed in carelessly.
"Hey what's going on?" She yells as steps on the chair and reaches for the opening. "Let me out of here." The metal slab scrapes shut, and she lets out an animalistic howl of frustration.
Her eyes land on the wrapped package. Another hour ticks by before the imprisoned girl reaches for it and unwraps what quickly reveals itself as food - A stale loaf of bread, along with a cold container of what may be brown unheated soup.
Her face twists in confusion until her eyes land on a note taped to the bottom of her soup container. The message is brief, and although hand written, perfect.
Eat; you will need your energy tomorrow.
Sometime after, she found herself drifting to sleep in an awkward position in the wooden chair. The food lays untouched at her feet and the letter is in a crumbled ball in the corner of the room. When she wakes again she is surprised in her ability to fall asleep considering the circumstances.
Her neck now sore and achy from her awkward rest, and her stomach grumbling with hunger, she walks over to the crumbled message and rips it up as a show of rebellion.
"Whoever you are you freak, let me out of here." Her voice rang out in the room with an echo. "I'm not in the mood for games."
Her words were heard, seemingly, as the metal slab once again slid open and something was once again thrown in. Only this time it was a metal cylinder, which oozed pure black smoke. The girl moved away from it, all the way to the other side of the room. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand. In seconds in her eyes were closing and her body swayed. Then darkness of unconsciousness over took her.
Ho
Her ears worked first, followed by her other senses. Her neck pain had grown from a dull ach to full blown agony. Her head rolled backwards and a moan of pain escaped her dry cracked lips. She tried to move her hands, which were tied tightly behind her.
"You both are awake."
Her eyes snapped open only to close again because of the brightness of the room. Ignoring the harsh piercing pain it caused, the girl forced her eyes open. Before her was a woman, a tall woman honey blond hair and black eyes. Her skin was porcelain pale and flawless, everything about her was flawless.
The girl opened her mouth to curse but no words would come out, no matter how hard she tried. Her voice box was failing her.
"You both will remain mute until I say otherwise." The woman walked out of her view behind the chair she was tied to. The girl realized quickly that another was tied up behind her in another chair. "You two will meet." The woman said as if reading her mind. The woman appeared before her again. "Now it is time to get on to more important matters."
The girl frowned and tried to figure out why something was off with this woman. Something about her had the girl's mind screaming, about what was amiss.
"My name is Nozua and I'm to be your informer." There. There it was, the reason the woman was so off to the girl. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to notice. "Informer to what you may ask." Her lips weren't at all matching what was coming out of her mouth. The words would come out but her lips moved at a much slower pace. It reminded the girl a lot of an old dubbed Kun-Fu movie. "I will show you…"
The woman stepped aside revealing a slick black television descending slowly from the ceiling. The girl guessed it was happening on the other side of the room as well. When the TV was fully down it blinked on and images began flashing across its screen.
Chaos, the girl never thought of being able to use a word like that, but what was playing out across the television's screen was nothing less. Fires, explosions and stampedes of people running from something so far unseen, were all taking place on screen. The girl witnessed at least forty people becoming trampled under the frightened crowd.
Then what had them running came into view and a gasp escaped her and whoever was behind her. Large and silvery masses of tissue, with long arms and unrecognizable faces, were attacking them.
"We have no desire to wipe out your total populace. We only wish to rehabilitate and of course conquer." The woman began speaking again as an army tank appeared and began pointlessly firing on the creature. "That is how you two will play a part. As our… ambassadors so to speak, our voice to reach the humans that we may spare. We understand that you are young my human standards, and certainly by ours. But we felt as if someone older would be more than likely solid in their ways, and anyone younger would be useless." The woman left her view again. "It will be confusing at first, as expected."
The TV's blinked off and began their steady journey back into the ceiling. The girl had every thought of refusing this… she wasn't even sure it was really computing in her mind. Was this real? "It is real." The woman spoke again. "You also have no other choices. Death isn't even a choice for either of you anymore. We have half a year to get you ready. You have year to become useful ambassadors. No other choices."
Nozua produced another metal cylinder which permitted its black smoke and forced the girl into unconsciousness.
When she woke again, she was chained from the ceiling; her arms above her head in a painful position thought forced all the tension onto her shoulder blades. She moaned in pain as the chain around her wrists dug into her wrists.
"We will begin with enhancing pain endurance." Nozua appeared scaring the girl so much she literally jumped. She felt a cold object being pressed into her rib cage, it felt like a pen. It was then she realized she was shirtless and maybe even pants less. She began to struggle against her bindings. "You're going to have to lose a little more weight, while your companion needs to gain."
"Wh-"The girl swallowed hard realizing she could speak again. "I don't wanna do this."
"No choices," the woman said. "Remember that. Hato, bring me the instrument."
Another blond, this time male appeared. He and the woman shared similar black eyes and flawless features though. "You don't look anything like… like that monster on the TV." The girl pointed out and eyed the metallic circle which broke apart in the woman's hands.
"You will learn more as time goes, but I suppose revealing this will only help you see reason." The woman approached her with the object. "We are the Nola; they are being attacked by the Farsli, our pets." The woman explained lining the metal halves around the girl's abdomen. "We are much more… frightening then our pets."
Without warning the halves snapped together around her abdomen, taking her breath away. It harshly squeezed, and grew tighter around her and tears sprang to her eyes as she felt her ribs crack. She tried desperately to stop the body shaking sobs that attacked her body. It hurt.
"How long Nozua?" Hato asked watching the human before him wither and whimper in pain.
His sister shrugged. "Fourteen hours then give her a break. How is the boy?"
Hato rolled his shoulders. "Crying like a new born," He looked at his sister and smiled widely. "I do enjoy some of these odd expressions these humans use."
"I'll be happy when we can abandon this mission and return home. This world stinks horribly."
"Wouldn't you like to beat Haza at having the best human ambassadors? You two are always in constant competition."
"I will win." She announced and turned her back on the withering girl and exited the room.
CL
She couldn't move it hurt way too much. Breathing had become an unwanted habit and she tried to avoid it at all costs. She could feel her loose ribs moving around inside her and taste the blood in the back of her throat.
Her torture had ended three hours ago and they had returned her to her cement block of a room for rest. Rest… impossible with the coldness of the room seeming ten times worse and the hardness of the floor she laid on like harsh kicks to her already damaged abdomen. She felt as if she was supposed to be unconscious from the amount of pain she was feeling but in her mind someplace, the girl was well aware why she wasn't unconscious nor dead from the inhumane agony.
Her mind did a lot of strange things, during her time of withering in pain. Though unconsciousness was a pleasantry she was not allowed, she found herself daydreaming a lot. A lot of nonsense… likes lounging in a hot tube, having a fatty steak, and reading a book. A whole book in her, it was so real. Then she found herself thinking about how she had once claimed to enjoy pain. The thought had her becoming angry with herself and wallowing in the irony of her words. You couldn't enjoy pain.
Now she could feel whatever had been keeping her conscious when she very well should have been unconscious leave her, a painless darkness still wouldn't come. Her mind was reeling and her pain was too great. Her mind tried to make things fit, and bring sense to what made no sense. Her mind was so confused and almost as bad as the torture.
Hours later the hard cement began to feel like a king sized mattress, and her thoughts became more foggy and sporadic. Soon she was in deep exhausted rest.
Her sleep was interrupted a long time later, but far too short of a time for her. Her bones were as stiff as a board, but her ribs were no longer in unbearable agony. She was surprised to realize her breathing though still haggard and short, came a lot easier. Her ribs still hurt badly but were bearable and felt bruised more than broken.
Holding onto her swollen bruised side, the girl looked around for what had awakened her. On the floor beside her tipped over wooden chair was another wrapped package. Her stomach pinched painfully for food, and she was smart enough this time to listen to it.
Half crawling, half dragging, she made her way over to the wrapped package and tore it open. Inside was another stale loaf and brown soup along with a bottle of water. She quickly guzzled the water down, almost moaning when the wetness made contact with her parched throat. Her hands then made work on removing the container lid and tarring off a piece of bread and covering it with brown mush. Though each swallow hurt, it was all gone in minutes.
As she licked the container clean another note taped to the bottom caught her attention. She reluctantly tore it off and read it.
Eat; you will surely need it for today.
An hour later another wrapped package was shoved through the metal slab. She could tell it wasn't food, so her enthusiasm of unwrapping it was non-existent. Inside was clothing, a black shirt and black cargo pants. No shoes.
Not needing to read the note attached, the girl slid the clothing onto her body and up righted her chair and took a seat. Less than an hour later a cylinder was dropped into the room and it began pumping out its black fog.
CL
She was only slightly surprised to wake up on the ground. Coughing slightly the girl sat up, her eyes instantly falling on Nozua, who stood only feet away from her. Instinct alone had the girl scrambling backwards away from the woman… creature.
"Welcome back, ambassador." Nozua greeted. "Are you ready to begin your physical endurance?"
The girl risked taking her eyes of Nozua to look around. They were outside a building, which was completely surrounded by trees. Her eyes trailed up the building, it looked like a cabin lounge.
"This is the area we train you to become ambassadors. Later in your training we will be returning back into fry of things to set up homestead." A forced unnatural smile appeared on the woman's face. "We will begin by having you run full circle around this area until I say stop." The woman pointed to her own arm making the girl look down at hers. Finally noticing the heavy metal bracelet around her wrist, "and that will make certain you keep at a… appropriate amount of speed and not bother us with silly attempts of straying too far."
The girl slowly raised to her feet her bones protesting. Her ribs still felt awful, and this woman wanted her to run? "I… I can't run."
"You will… no other choices." The woman explained. "Now go…"
Pain instantly shot up the girl's arm and she found herself moving her feet. As she began a pain inducing jog the agony lessened but remained strong. It wasn't until she was moving clumsily through the trees at a full out run did it go away altogether.
Five hours later she couldn't breathe, and her heart felt about ready to pop out of her chest. Her throat burned and her muscles screamed. Her arm was a deep purple color from all the times she had fallen slower than a jog. She couldn't collapse and she couldn't fall unconscious, something was stopping her. Eight hours later she felt as if she was a running corpse. All the fluids in her body felt gone and she couldn't feel her muscles tarring, and her heart breaking anymore. All there was running and the frightening promise of pain if she came to a stop. Ten hours later the clear sky darkened with sunset, and she was allowed to stop.
The girl slept for two days straight after. Then there was a whole another week of 'pain endurance testing' and 'physical endurance testing'. The girl called it only one thing, torture. Her body was extremely weak and oddly stronger.
Her hands were once again above her in the awkward position that no longer hurt, but her body did respond to the forthcoming pain of the rib breaking clamp by shivering. She watched Nozua with a blank expression as she approached with the torture machine, though fear danced behind her dull irises.
"I don't understand the torture." The girl said. "How is this going to make me a better ambassador?"
Nozua lined the halves up to the bruised scared skin of the girl. "There will be rebels." The woman said as if it explained everything. "Humans who fight against us… if they were to capture one of you and torture you for information it wouldn't work. They couldn't ever torture you in a more agonizing way then us. Their torture would be like a vacation."
It was twisted, but made a lot of sense. The girl nodded in understanding. The halves clamped around her abdomen and the girl only whimpered no cry out of pain.
Nozua nodded her own head seemingly pleased by this. "Time for you to meet… re-meet your companion. It's time to begin more of a political lesson."
CL
A day later she was led to a room with one long wooden table and two chairs. She was set in one of the chairs and given a notebook and a pen by Hato. The girl let a sigh escape her lips as she gently shifted in her chair trying to lessen the agony on her torso. She began scribbling on the notebook after a while, not being much of a drawer, it wasn't anything recognizable.
When she heard the room's door open she made no attempt at looking up, too tired. She barely cared who was going to be her co-ambassador anyway.
"Jade?" Her head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice, and her eyes widened.
"Robbie?" He looked as bad as she felt. His hair was a mess of black curls, which was matted down to his face with sweat. His glasses were gone, which made the tired bruises under his eyes stand out along with his sunken cheeks. He was pale and clothes identical to the ones she was wearing hung from him, dramatically.
Nozua appeared behind him and he instantly got over his shock of seeing his friend and took a seat beside her. "Welcome Ambassadors," the female greeted walking around the other side of the table. "We will now begin with our politics – explaining what we are going to expect out of you and the humans under your siege." The woman explained.
Hours later both Robbie and Jade had over fifteen pages full of rules and expectations. Their fingers were achy and stiff when they finished. She realized she really should have guessed that even a task that had a premise of being painless wouldn't be.
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